Gift Guide: Carolina Pad Review and Giveaway!

Here's one for your always fashionable and ultra organized friend. You know you have one of those! Or for the friend who you think might need a little help organizing their life. :)

Carolina Pad creates fun, vibrant products that help you to stay organized while expressing yourself at the same time! Their slogan is "Everyday products. Extraordinary design." And they really are! Since you end up buying lots of notebooks, planners, and file folders anyway, you might as well buy fabulous ones!!!

I was so happy to receive a whole collection of their bright and happy Hot Chocolate line to review. These are just the cutest organizing tools I've ever seen!

I decided to use mine to keep track of some things I'm starting to pay more attention to these days. . . couponing and mystery shopping! I don't subscribe to the Sunday paper, but I do receive lots of coupons in the mail, as well as printing them off online. I also check quite a few blogs that are updated constantly with freebies, printable coupons, and other great ways to save money. It's fun and definitely makes me feel good when I save a large chunk of money at the store!
My favorite coupons that I use the most often are for:
-Diapers and wipes
-Formula (expensive stuff!)
-Baby food
-Old Navy

I'm embarrassed to admit how unorganized my coupon system used to be. . . just a big pile of papers, everything mixed together, that I would grab and take into the car with me. I had to sort through each pile before I went into a store to find the relevant coupons. Here's how I'm using the Carolina Pad products to make everything much easier and efficient:

*I'm using my 13-pocket expandable folder and my Coupon expandable folder to divide the coupons up into different categories. I cut my coupons up, stick them in the right place, and it's SO much easier to find everything in an instant!
*I use the Planner to write down one-day deals, great sales, and any important expiration dates that I don't want to forget. It's so nice! I used to always hear about great deals and sales but could never remember the dates for all of them.

I just started doing some Mystery Shopping. . . and it's really fun! Last week I mystery shopped two Sunglass Huts for $15 each, one Public Storage unit for $40, and my family got reimbursed for two games of bowling and some food from the snack bar! Awesome! Mystery shopping requires you to be very organized, because you won't get paid for the shop if you miss a deadline or a detail. Carolina Pad products have been helping me keep track of my shops too!

*I use the file folders to store my receipts and paperwork, so that I'll make sure to get paid the correct amounts.
*I also use the planner to write down my shop dates. Some of them give you a range, and some are very specific.

I'm very happy with how well the Carolina Pad products function, and of course with how fun and fashionable they are! These products are sold in WalMart, Target, Office Max, and lots of other stores all around the country. In fact, I had already bought some notebooks from their collection and hadn't even realized it. This collection caught my eye when I was shopping at Fred Meyer one night. Aren't they pretty?

I also love the green, black, and white color palette for this collection:

Carolina Pad is offering a giveaway of a whole gift basket of products just like the one I received! Here's what the collection will include:
*1-subject notebook
*Ideal notebook
*Personal notebook
*3-ring binder
*Tab dividers
*File folders
*13-pocket expandable folder
*Coupon expandable folder
*19-month planner
*Stick-on notes and flags

A whole box of useful and cute stuff!!!!
Here's how to enter:
*Visit Carolina Pad and leave me a comment telling me which area of your life needs the most help with organization. Also tell me which of their collections you'd most want to have!

Get extra entries when you:
1. Follow my blog!
2. Grab my button off my sidebar, and tell me where to find it on your blog.
3. Mention this giveaway on Facebook and link to me
4. Blog about this giveaway
5. Tweet about this giveaway
6. Become a fan of carolinapad on Facebook
7. Follow carolinapad on Twitter
8. Sign up for their mailing list here.

*Please leave me a separate comment for each entry! This giveaway will close on December 3'rd, and is open to the U.S. and Canada only. Good luck and happy shopping!!!